The day after Christmas, it was a beautiful night. I've seen Joe three times before, all big arena shows. Since this was the first opportunity for me to get close, we got there extra early (about four hours before the show), just to be able to get right up front and see Joe's fingerwork. It was worth it. There we were, front and center, right against the rail. This is the perfect position to view at the House of Blues. As I streched out my arm, my hand was within two feet of Joe's guitar. Joe was flawless, absolutely perfect performance. Since Joe likes to move around, we were able to see from all angles. Stu was right there also, amazing everyone. These guys really work hard and know how to put on an excellent show. The crowd was also great, no pushing or shoving, like some "other" shows I've been to. I really would have like to win the back-stage passes also, I was one name away from getting them. To have Joe sign my license plate that reads "1BIGRSH" would have completed the perfect night after seeing the perfect show.

Hats off to Joe, Eric, Stu, & Jeff. Once again another great show. Some seem to be a little critical of the show but I was satisfied. I didn't notice any errors in either the bands playing nor their attitudes. Joe seemed to be quite content with the way the evening was going & it appeared as though Eric, Stu, & Jeff were also. All the members were smileing alot & appeared to be enjoying themselves through out the night. It also seems as though all their guests were also. The setlist was great, all the tunes were favorites. I even got to hear House full of Bullets, my personal favorite. Thanks again to the band for such a great evening. Maybe one of these days I might even get a pick, I came close this time but no cigar!

Joe was awesome as always! This was my third concert here in LA area (previous G3 Hollywood Bowl and Thousand Oaks Civic) in the past few years. Joe is such a gifted musician, it is hard to believe it is humanly possible to play as well as he does. HOB as a venue is small and "up close" too, it made it great. Volume and the mix was perfect, not too loud up front- just right.

Like always, I go home with idea I should just give up and throw my guitar in the fireplace!!! Joe is such a virtuoso! Nobody else out there is of his talent that combines not only technical mastery of the guitar but has excellent songwriting ability, lyrical soloing/melodies, choice phrasing, awesome tone, highly speed, feedback control, gosh.....everything.

Joe rocks- there is no doubt. And with all that ability he remains to give the impression of being such a humble, low key guy. No ego trips with him like so many other guitarists.

As far as I am concerned- only one other guitarist compares with all those traits I mentioned above about Joe... (The whole package- songwriting, ability, licks, tone, no ego trip)- that was one of the earliest melodic players from the early days in the 70's being Rory Gallagher.

Well, Stu was coming off a trip from Boston/Vermont, so he was a bit rusty. The sound was a bit weird. Do I care? NO! Stu signed my Outbound cover and Merry Axemas 2, Satch signed MA 1 and my ticket, and got some cool pictures from the show, plus I was front row in front of Joe, and to have the chance to "see" every note that comes out of his guitar is just unreal. Was it worth arriving at the venue at 4 pm and leaving at 1:10 am? Hell yeah. The second show was even better (see review)

never have i witness such showmanship from four individuals...not since i first saw queen back in 1978 have i been so moved. i wanted to see joe play what i heard on record, yet i got more than that: i watched him move up and down that fretboard with such ease that i felt that i was watching gene kelly demostrating complex moves yet while having a great time doing so. my hats off to joe and his trusty sidemen for performing such a magnificent show. i wanted to go to the next show, but i knew that that would've been impossible. thanks joe for a great time.... you're the greatest. your fan alexander portillo from los angeles ca

I am a long time fan, but this was the first time I've ever seen Joe live. On the whole, the show was good, but the band seemed quite rusty. There was a point about 45 minutes into the show where Joe and Stu seemed to click and then the show seemed to take off. But, before that, the band and Joe seemed pretty mechanical.
This is probably the last place for one to post a lukewarm concert review of Satch, but for $38.00 plus $10.00 for parking, I was pretty disappointed. There just wasn't much communication between the guys and Stu seemed bothered by the whole affair.

Sorry, I have definately seen Joe under better circumstances. The House of Blues can be a great place with it's size like when Joe did the show there for Crystal Planet. This time had some problems. It was hard to hear Joe clearly. I like it loud and all but it was actually a little too loud to hear everything. Then it appeared HOB cut Joe off after his first encore. Was it getting too late? The song choice was good though I liked the set at the Wiltern better. How can you beat Down,Down,Down? Won't stop me from seeing him next time though.

Overall yet another amazing show from Joe and the guys. We ended up getting there pretty early and heard a few songs during the soundcheck while we sat outside before heading off for dinner somewhere... cool! As others said, the setlist was a bit abbreviated from earlier in the tour. The first half of the show was exactly the same, while the second half opened with House Full Of Bullets, replacing Down, Down, Down, Clouds Race Across The Sky, and A Train Of Angels, which were all missed. Joe did say in the online chat a few weeks ago that they were changing the setlist, so I guess he was right but I was hoping for a few more additions. He did say in the chat he would play Time Machine (but didn't play it), and I was hoping some of my setlist choices would get in too (especially Flavor Crystal 7 and Attack). Here's hoping for tonight... ;-)

Other than that, Joe was superb but the rest of the band seemed just a bit rusty after a long time off. I heard a few missed notes in Stu's solo, and I saw Jeff accidentally start playing the ending of Ceremony about 8 bars too early. He quickly caught it and incorporated the low toms in what he was playing for those last 8 bars to make it sound like he meant to do that, showing a sheepish grin on his face. ;-) Being the great player that he is, he did a perfect job of covering it up, so I wonder if anyone else caught it... These couple of shows will be just what they need to get back in top form for the DVD recording. If this video only comes out on DVD, it may be the one thing that forces me to buy a player...

Great show as always, but horrible venue. I have never liked the House of Blues because you have to stand all night packed in like sardines (no seating). Joe is the only artist that I will put up with the HOB for. Stu's bass did not sound quite right - whoever is the technician seemed to be having problems. I am going again tonight, and I hope that any technical difficulties are resolved. All the guys were amazing as always.

Great show, as usual, but there was some very important stuff missing. In every previous show that I have seen (3+2 webcasts), the second half started out with a much more melodic and hypnotic set including 'Clouds race across the Sky' and 'Down Down Down'. This would always set the mood and then segue into a long and awesome second half. This time, after the intermission, it seemed to start right in the middle of the second set (although I don't think I've heard 'House Full of Bullets' live before). 'Train of Angels' was also sorely missed. The ambiance wasn't quite the same.

While the show was still very good, I am concerned that the upcoming DVD recording sessions will be using the same abbreviated set list. I hope Joe decides to play more, not less, for the DVD. I would like to see as much content as possible. Personally, I suggest that Joe play every single tune that he knows, plus a few extra - even some scales! While the cameras are out, may as well get it all down. If time is the concern then make it a multi-disc DVD set! :-) That would be way cool! I hope they at least get the full set list down. I am really looking forward to the DVD!